Ratings & Reviews

Synopsis

Dawn of the Planet of the ApesA war begins to brew between man and ape in this sequel to the 2011 hit Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It's been ten years since the Simian Flu wiped out most of humanity, and somewhere deep in the woods outside of San Francisco, Caesar (voice and performance capture by Andy Serkis) and his primate companions have established a thriving village built on the principles of peace and community. Shortly after welcoming a baby brother into the family, Caesar's son Blue Eyes (Nick Thurston) is walking through the forest with his friend Ash (Doc Shaw) when they cross paths with a human named Carver (Kirk Acevedo), who impulsively draws his gun and shoots Ash at the first sign of aggression. As it turns out, Carver is part of a human expedition led by Malcolm (Jason Clarke), who, along with the rest of his crew, races to Carver's side just as Caesar and the rest of the apes answer Blue Eyes' desperate call for help. An enraged Caesar drives the humans away after realizing they are no longer a threat, and decides to dispatch a small crew to follow them rather than yield to the pleas of his aggressive advisor Koba (Toby Kebbell) to launch an all-out attack. Instead, he decides to show the apes' strength by amassing outside of the humans' makeshift community at the base of an unfinished tower, making it unmistakably clear that the two species should remain apart.
Meanwhile, the point of the human excursion was to get a dormant dam running again in order to power their community, which will soon be thrust into darkness should they fail to take action. Convinced that he could strike a truce with Caesar that would allow the humans to repair the dam, which is located on the apes' land, Malcolm gets permission from human leader Dreyfus (Gary Oldman) to set out on his mission. Incredibly, thanks to the help of his girlfriend Ellie (Keri Russell), his son Alexander (Kodi Smit-McPhee), and a few other key allies, Malcolm succeeds. Still, his truce with the apes is a fragile one, and just when it seems that the primates and humans have learned to coexist in peace, a shocking act of betrayal threatens to spark a war that will determine the dominant species. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Exciting sequel to 2011's surprising ROTPOTA

Posted 4 years ago

Stylez

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This review is from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Includes Digital Copy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray] [2014]

It's always about power. Man has always sought power – power over his environment, power over the beasts of the Earth, and power over other men and women. Power is our curse. And the lust for power is often our undoing.
Power is very much the strongest theme in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and it's a human craving for electric power that brings them into conflict with the apes. Ten years have passed since the events of Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and much of humanity has been wiped out by the simian flu. There's a small colony of humans living in the ruins of San Francisco, and a grop of them heads across the bridge to investigate whether they can get a dam working again to turn the power back on. They come across a colony of apes, led by Caesar (Serkis), who have not encountered humans for a decade. The humans seek access to the dam, and Caeser is keen to cooperate and avoid any conflict. But his deputy Koba (Kebbell) hates uhumans, doesnt' trust them and wants nothing to do with them. An dthere are those on the human side who see the apes as nothing but animals to be swept out of the way. As you would expect, conflict ensues.
This is a very smart, tense, engaging and exciting sequel to 2011's surprising Rise of the Planet of the Apes. In the 10 years since the events of the first film, Caeser has established an ape civilisation. Most of the apes know sign language; a few can speak; and some can even write words. The humans had been thought to have completely died out, and Caesar – who now has a family of his own – and the rest of the apes are initially wary and suspicious of the humans' motives. But Caeser is highly intelligent, and sees that war with the humans would lead to the deaths of many apes, and so decides that helping the humans is the logical way to go. But Koba – who suffered at the hands of humans when he was a lab animal – wants nothing but revenge. And there are those too in the human camp – chief among them Dreyfus (Oldman) and Carver (Acevedo) – who believe the apes are standing in the way of humanity rebuilding its society.
Much has been made of the motion-capture technology used to create the apes for this film, and it is truly impressive. The Planet of the Apes films of the 1970s used actors in (very good) latex masks to play the apes, and we still have actors in masks here - although these masks are made of pixels, not rubber and glue. But most importantly, its the actors' performances behind those pixel masks that truly bring these characters to life. And the two standout performances are from Serkis (of course) and Kebbell, who are utterly convincing as the simians, bringing real intelligence and emotion to their characters. You can see it in the eyes. Serkis especially is perfect; as we know, he's probably the world's foremost exponent of performance capture, and while watchng him as Caesar, you don't even notice the technology at work. It's one of the great acting performances of the year, and Serkis truly deserves an Oscar nomination for his work. What's also perfect with this film is that the mo-cap tech has been taken out of the studio - all the action takes place on location, which adds another layer of reality to the story.
It's a solidly-directed effort from Reeves, who also brought us the terrific Cloverfield and the so-so remake Let Me In. In Dawn, he gives us a somewhat bleak tale told on an epic scale, aided by a tightly-written, intelligent script. And as well as power, there are themes of family, survival, leadership and what it means to be human running throughout. It's not perfect – there are a couple of plot holes, and there's also a lack of female characters (just one on each side) – but it's still one of the best summer blockbusters we've seen in quite some time. It's a visually stunning and compelling film full of big ideas and wonderful performances.

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CasualBestBuyShopper

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Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4

Not as good as the first one

Posted 4 years ago

CasualBestBuyShopper

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This review is from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Includes Digital Copy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray] [2014]

"Fear makes others turn." Years after the Ape's rose up they have started their own civilization. Living in the hills of San Francisco they are peaceful and have evolved into even smarter beings. Humans on the other hand have been almost wiped out because of the simian virus and a small group has gathered in the city of San Francisco. When they face a power shortage a small group of humans hike up to the abandoned dam in hopes of restoring it. When the find the ape colony both civilizations have to fight for existence. I was never a big fan of the original Planet Of The Apes movies and really didn't like the remake with Marky Mark at all. When Rise of Planet of the Apes came out I wasn't expecting a lot but I really ended up liking it a lot. When this sequel came out I was actually excited to see it. While I didn't think this was as good as the first one (my wife liked it more though) it is still a very good movie and defiantly worth checking out. To me the first movie seemed like a deeper and richer story that was full of emotion and excitement. This one did have some emotional aspects and did have much more action then the first one but to me it didn't feel as full in story as the other one. On the other hand though the different aspects of the war : human vs. ape, ape vs. ape and human vs. human is what really made the movie. It's also a little disheartening knowing that no matter what species or race you are it only takes one to being about an end. Overall, another sequel that I didn't think was as good as the first one but I think may get better the more you watch it.

I would recommend this to a friend

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HudsonHawk

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Fun Steelbook of a Great Summer Flick

Posted 3 years ago

HudsonHawk

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This review is from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray] [3D] [Only @ Best Buy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D] [2014]

I love the Apes films, dating back to being a child and enjoying the original 1968 production and it's mixed bag of sequels. One thing I've always loved, is for the most part, the films all feel different. Sure, there's themes that run throughout and even characters that appear more than once, but really, each film has it's own unique style and storytelling going on. This continues on with these two new Apes flicks, while this is certainly a sequel to the Rise film from a few years ago, it's also very different. Probably my favorite summer flick of 2014.
The steelbook? It's not the best you'll ever see, but it's fun and feels right with the characters of the film. It also has inner artwork, which is nice. The blu-ray itself? Fantastic! The image absolutely stunned on my Samsung plasma, right from the opening with that great shot of Caesar's eyes and the camera pull out and forrest hunt that followed. The sound is absolutely spectacular as well, with a surround mix presented in lossless that just thumps and surround you with great ambience and effects, while also doing a great job of sound field separation so all dialogue is crisp and warm. The action sequences just look and sound fantastic. Highly recommended on all fronts!

I would recommend this to a friend

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brian

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

"You've finally made a monkey out of me!"

Posted 4 years ago

brian

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This review is from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Includes Digital Copy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray] [2014]

Possibly my favorite movie of the year. Rise of the Planet of the Apes was a solid movie, providing a fresh update of a classic franchise, bringing something new to the table. However, it wasn't perfect. The style and tone were at times kind of generic, without any specific choices being made. But they succeeded in bringing Caesar to life, and making us care about a CGI-animated chimp, thanks to some ground-breaking special effects and a riveting performance by Andy Serkis. However, Dawn completely ups the ante - again, amazing animation and performances, but this time we have the benefit of Matt Reeves' vision. Whereas Rise lacked a style, Dawn has down. Not to say that this is a stylized movie, but the look and feel of it is very specific. And for a movie focused on a bunch of chimps, its incredibly emotional, and makes you feel connected with these characters. Yes, characters. These are very fleshed out characters, again brought to life by some excellent actors. And lastly, this Blu-ray offers incredible video and audio that makes this disc a must-buy.

I would recommend this to a friend

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filmfreak

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Loved It!

Posted 4 years ago

filmfreak

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This review is from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Includes Digital Copy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray] [2014]

1 December 2014
Spectacular sequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes continues this wonderful reboot of the '70s movies. This one is a reworking of the story from Battle of the Planet of the Apes, which was the weakest entry in the original series. 'Dawn' is superior to 'Battle' in every way, although a notch below 'Rise' in my book. The story picks up ten years after the events of 'Rise.' Caesar is now the leader of the apes living in the woods north of San Francisco. The only humans remaining are the ones immune to the virus introduced in the prior film. The humans and apes have a tenuous relationship that is further strained by humans attempting to enter the ape habitat to reactivate a hydroelectric dam. Caesar wants peace between the humans and the apes, so he allows them in to fix the dam. This doesn't sit well with some of the apes, particularly one named Koba, who wants to wipe out the remaining humans.

I would recommend this to a friend

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CrazyAlexP

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Terrific Release for the Dawn of the Apes

Posted 4 years ago

CrazyAlexP

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This review is from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray] [3D] [Only @ Best Buy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D] [2014]

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is by far one of the best movies I've seen all year. The visuals are amazing, the character development is superb, and the drama is beautifully done. Naturally, I wanted to add this movie to my Blu-ray collection as soon as it became available, and what better way to do it than with the Best Buy exclusive MetalPak? Not only does the movie look and sound absolutely incredible on Blu-ray, but this MetalPak is wonderfully crafted and is one of the most beautiful MetalPaks I've ever seen. Plus, for those who have a 3D TV, this edition does include the 3D disc so you can watch this movie in all its 3D glory. All in all, the Best Buy exclusive MetalPak release of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is an excellent release that I highly recommend to all fans of this film and to Blu-ray collectors everywhere.

I would recommend this to a friend

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swordofthemorning

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

Great Apes

Posted 4 years ago

swordofthemorning

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This review is from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray] [3D] [Only @ Best Buy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray/Blu-ray 3D] [2014]

"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" is an amazing spectacle of cinema! Every single thing about this film works to the nth degree!
The story, about survival, family, and a battle between animal vs. man is highly engaging. The actors, particularly Andy Serkis as Caesar and Toby Kebbell as Koba, the villain, and Nick Thurston as Caesar's son, Blue Eyes, all done with motion capture, they make their performances so human. The music sweeps you away and brings you into a sci-fi world of incredible scope. The human elements are also great with Malcolm played by Jason Clarke and the other bad guy played by Gary Oldman.
In a nutshell, I loved this movie more than "Rise", which I felt was a good intro to these characters, but this sequel is able to add more depth to the characters and much more. Highly Recommended!

I would recommend this to a friend

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Jeremiah

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Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

5

War has Began

Posted 2 years ago

Jeremiah

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This review is from Dawn of the Planet of the Apes [Includes Digital Copy] [UltraViolet] [Blu-ray] [2014]

I love this franchise. I purchased The Rise of the Planet of Apes which I love so its no surprise I bought Dawn of the Planet of Apes. This movie starts with an introduction about the 1st film and continues to the next where the human race is dying due to the ALZ-113 virus. Caesar has a family and the apes have grown as a civilization. Caesar has a wife and a son. He is a full grown leader with tons of wisdom. The Apes are flourishing. However, things change where humans spot two apes and a gun is fired. The apes and humans are put at odds where the future of the human race is put into question. Will apes replace humans as the dominant species? Or will humans again reign supreme? This movie is definitely a must buy if you enjoy the franchise.